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TinaG
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Hi APJ,
Any new Comme des Garcons fragrance is bound to cause a stir in the fragrance community, and Concrete is no exception. I was intrigued, as I enjoy industrial notes in fragrances and was excited to see what this may entail. Then I started hearing rumours that the fragrance was actually a sweet woody floral. Huh? How does that work? After reading some of the press releases, it is exactly how it was supposed to be.
Candy Perfume Boy gives these featured accords:
Sandalwood, Rose Oxide & CDG Spice Signature
So, my preconceived ideas were quickly demolished when I sprayed Concrete on skin. First impressions were of a sweetness, a pink floral with green undertones. There’s a pepperiness to the sillage and I realise the green note is cardamom, one of my favourite aromatic spices. The pink floral has an initial wateriness to it and it reminds me of cactus flower. There is a distinct CdG signature hovering in the background of a quirky synthetic, which my mind associated with a pink dishwashing liquid. After about 10 minutes I get a plastic rose note, and pink lolly musk.
As an aside – you know you are Australian when you can easily differentiate between variations of pink musk. It is a common ingredient in many sweets – musk sticks, musk lifesavers, and Fruit Tingles which have slightly different citrus flavours and the prized “multi-coloured” tingle. So when I’m talking in this case about pink lolly musk, I’m referring to musk sticks. I’m sure these are available in other countries but they don’t seem to be globally ubiquitous.
PDI
The fragrance settles and loses the cardamom, to feature plastic rose and the musk. Then I lose the plastic over 2 hours for a residual musk-rose which stays for the remainder of the dry down. There is supposed to be sandalwood in here but I can’t find it, and I thought that the sillage was quite low until I met up with a friend for coffee. She immediately identified that I was wearing a CdG, and she could smell the sandalwood. I think that I just don’t have enough experience with sandalwood notes when they have been disintegrated from each other, whereas my friend has much more perfume-creating experience than I, and clicked on to the smell immediately.
The main selling point of this fragrance is the aesthetics of the packaging – the funky bottle made out of concrete is a winner, and the familiar shape will slot neatly into any CdG collection. I’d recommend leaving expectations behind when testing the fragrance – as, really, you should with any CdG. I’d also be curious when this becomes more widely available to see what people think of the paired-back sandalwood note. Currently (August) Concrete is available at Selfridges in London, and Dover Street Market in New York City and London, but I understand it will be distributed more broadly during September 2017.
PDI
Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Persolaise
Do you have a favourite CdG scent?
Till next time,
Tina G